The 37-year-old Olympic legend earlier this week bared his soul as part of his ongoing recovery from a substance abuse battle in a major leap forward on his path to taking control of his life again.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist’s next step after leaving his rehabilitation centre in Los Angeles, USA, is to return to Australia next month.

That’s when his recovery will confront its biggest challenge, according to former relay teammate Klim.

Klim told Hit105’s Stav, Abby & Matt with Osher that Hackett is in a healthy frame of mind and has been easing back into life by spending time with US Olympic legend Michael Phelps and Aussie ironman champion Ky Hurst, who is currently based in Bermuda training with Team Oracle training for the America’s Cup sailing showdown.

“I’ve spoken to him a few times,” Klim said,

“Mainly just through text. He’s spending a bit of time in The States at the moment. He spent a bit of time in Bermuda with Ky Hurst. He’s taken him under his wing. Michael’s had a pretty good transition.

“He seems pretty happy. He looks in good shape and I know he’s trying to look after himself, not just physically but mentally as well.

Grant Hackett has a lot of supporters.Source:News Corp Australia

“It is not easy. Especially when it’s taking place in the media. He’s withdrawn himself initially, but the test will come when he comes back to Australia.”

Klim said he still believes swimming’s reputation of being a breeding ground for substance abuse problems during and after competition is simply unfair.

He said having worked within the Australian men’s swimming team in recent years he is convinced substance abuse problems are on the decline for Australian swimmers.

“There’s probably a couple of cases that have put us at the fore front, but I don’t think so.” he said when asked if drug use is as widespread in his sport as is portrayed.

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time with the team in the lead up to Rio (Olympics) and before Manchester and the Commonwealth Games.

“I’ve seen that they’re very young, drive, professional guys and I don’t think it’s any worse to be honest. If anything the guys these days have got more distractions, they’ve got more to think about. They’ve got more to manage. Whereas before for me, I was living at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport), I had everything and everyone working for me.”

Hackett’s transition to life after his swimming career has been riddled with speed bumps.

He this week cleared his conscience and set the record straight over his public scandals of recent years.

Another victim of early retirement.Source:Getty Images

Hackett was arrested in February at his parents’ home after his mother Margaret, father Nev and brother Craig feared for their safety when the former long distance swimmer’s behaviour became dangerous and erratic.

His family then pleaded with the public’s help in finding Hackett after he reportedly went missing soon after, before being found on the Gold Coast.

Hackett also uploaded a photo of himself with a black eye to Instagram earlier this year, claiming his badly damaged face was the result of an altercation with his older brother, who he said “beat the s***” out of him.

“I didn’t get any punches in there as you could see from the results,” Hackett said.

“I think it shocked him.

“I wasn’t in a good space for a couple of months and he came over to my house and I was refusing that help, I didn’t want him to come in and when I get in that state of mind I get quite reclusive.

“He wanted to come in, I didn’t want him to come in … I was trying to push him out and we got into a push-and-shove and he whacked me with his weak arm, so I’d hate to see him with his strong arm. We were both very regretful of the situation.

“I was very upset with my brother, he was very upset with me … I didn’t drink through that period but it all became too much.”

Hackett looked like this after an altercation with his brother.Source:Supplied

Hackett also opened up on his arrest following the incident at his parents’ house.

“Obviously it was pretty shocking from my end and to look back on that footage is quite agonising,” he said.

“I was in a bad place, I suffer from pretty bad anxiety and ended up drinking. I drank too much at my parents’ house and got into an argument with my dad.

“I went into their guest house and locked myself in there but they didn’t know that ... I woke up to two police officers, I was shocked.

“It was quite terrifying.

“Once I was released with that I didn’t know where I was at with my family and I just went to a hotel for four or five days.”

The swimming champion says he has trouble knowing who to trust when it comes to getting help because of his public profile, and said he hit “rock bottom” after his arrest in February.

“I wasn’t in a good space, I was deep down in that ditch and hit rock bottom,” he said.

“When I got arrested I thought, ‘This is it, I’ve had enough of this’ (it’s time to get help).

“I get anxiety, I haven’t handled the past few years very well in bits and pieces … ever since I went thought that divorce and all the publicity that followed.”

Hackett’s life started to unravel when his relationship with ex-wife Candice Alley broke down. He says he just wanted to sleep to avoid dealing with his personal troubles, which led him to seek out medication that would help him do just that. He says he wasn’t an alcoholic who craved a drink every day.

Hackett made headlines in 2012 for his bizarre meltdown at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, when he destroyed his apartment. He says he went on the rampage because he wanted his marriage to end.

“I smashed up the place because I wanted the marriage to end at that time. The piano was tipped on its side, I did that,” he said.

“It was so public, you get in this depressed state and you’re just looking for something to numb it. I just wanted to sleep.”

Grant Hackett has made headlines for all the right reasons.Source:News Corp Australia

Last year after Olympic trials for the Rio Games Hackett was accused of giving a passenger on his flight from Adelaide to Melbourne a “nipple cripple”. He admits he was drunk but says the media speculation over the incident led to lies about what actually happened.

“I finished Olympic trials where I didn’t have the success I wanted, I was in a dark place, I drank before that flight — there was one gentleman sitting in front of me — I was drunk for sure.

“I tapped him on the shoulder just to ask to put his seat up a little bit … if I touched his nipple, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to grab anyone inappropriately.

“The next minute in the media I’m being confrontational, I’m swearing … I didn’t do anything like that. I even asked him again if he was OK but he was really upset.”

Hackett says the misinformation around what he has and hasn’t done is frustrating to deal with, but it’s impossible to fight every battle, particularly when you consider the toll legal cases take on a person.

“I had three court cases running at the same time. If they get off on a technicality, it’s literally millions of dollars down the drain,” he said.